Search for the Cure
by powderkeg
Summary: Chizuru is tired of being useless, and when Sannan comes to her one day with a revelation, she is finally given a way to help. But will it make enough of a difference, or will she be rendered helpless and forced to watch as the Shinsengumi falls apart before her very eyes? (This will have romance. You help decide pairing(s). Rating may change for future chapters.)
1. The Proposition

**Author's Note:** Alright. So, even though I am pretty busy and can't commit to super frequent updates, I couldn't resist the temptation to write this new story. The plot bunny burrowed its way into my brain and won't let it go. It's much easier for me to write one-shots because of how little free time I have, but this idea just wouldn't leave it at that. XP

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Hakuouki; I'm merely borrowing the (super attractive) characters and setting, as well as some plot elements, to play with them. I'm poor, so please don't sue me! (The dialogue at the beginning of this chapter is borrowed almost directly from the game with some slight tweaks, for plot setup, but from there on it is all fabricated by yours truly.)

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"Ah, thank goodness you're here. If you had gone out, I wouldn't have been able to look for you." I turned to see the owner of the voice who had let himself into my room unannounced. I felt a small chill run down my spine at the almost too-pleasant tone of Sannan's voice.

I told myself I was merely imagining things and tried to ignore my discomfort, "Sannan?! But…it's daytime! Are you sure you're alright?!" It was always easiest for me to deflect my own feelings when I worried about someone else's; a defense mechanism in its own right.

"Yes, yes. I've just had a revelation. I can't possibly stay in bed," his smile was genuine and gleaming, but I couldn't help the bubble of unease that erupted in my chest once again. There was something about his expression which hinted at manic elation rather than friendly joy. "Will you listen to my idea?"

I had a feeling he was going to tell me whether I said yes or not, but in case he was feeling on-edge, I didn't want to do anything to exacerbate the situation. I tried to make my nod as nonchalant as possible, doing my best to arrange my face into an expression of simple curiosity.

"You're a demon," he stated bluntly. Of course, I had already known this fact, but hearing it was never easy. I hoped he didn't noticed I had flinched at his words. If he did, he ignored it easily and continued, "And as a demon, you're stronger, faster, and more resilient than a human." Although he seemed overjoyed at whatever epiphany he'd had, the tone he'd taken on for this explanation seemed so… clinical. I tried to keep my gaze blank as he went on, "Demonic superiority was displayed quite clearly by those demons who attacked us just the other night."

I understood that he was implying I held those same attributes, but I wasn't following where any sort of revelation could have occurred; where exactly he was going with this explanation. I tried to sound offhand, "What are you trying to say?"

"A demon possesses immense power. It follows that the blood which flows through demon veins should be similarly powerful. Perhaps it is even potent enough to completely counteract the madness of furies." Even if there was a manic edge to his words, his explanation was logical.

I couldn't deny that, but what if he were wrong, "How can you know that for sure?"

He answered without missing a beat, "Since before I became a fury, I've been researching how the ochimizu works. I know more about it than anyone else here." His smile turned slightly smug, "How could I be wrong then? In any event, I believe it's worth testing." Suddenly the manic edge creeped in again, but I couldn't exactly blame him for it, even if it made me want to take a step away from him, "If I _am_ correct… Oh, it would be wonderful! Your very existence could save the Rasetsu Corps! …No, the entire Shinsengumi!"

I tried to ignore the madness in his tone, and instead focus on the logic to his theory. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted, however, when I noticed he had unsheathed his blade! "Wait!"

His features were devoid of mania, but the apathy behind his eyes as he spoke words meant to reassure me only unnerved me further, "Oh, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to kill you or anything. I just want a small sample of your blood. That's all…"

I wanted time to think it over before blindly agreeing to such a proposition, but it seemed Sannan didn't want to give me that chance. My heart stuck in my throat as I slowly backed away as he advanced, still brandishing his blade. I felt my back hit the wall; there was no escape. It was at that moment that I heard the door slide open, "What is this, Sannan?"

He turned to the Shinsengumi commander with a smile, "Oh, Hijikata. Excellent timing. Please, give me a hand here."

I let out a sigh of relief as Hijikata carefully entered the room and stepped between me and Sannan's blade, his hand resting on the hilt of his own sword. Sannan was aghast, "What are you doing? This could be a breakthrough for the Shinsengumi."

Violet eyes narrowed; he spoke through gritted teeth, "For the last time, Sannan. What are you doing?"

Unfazed, Sannan continued to smile in that slightly manic way, "I'm searching for a way to treat the madness of the furies. For the good of the Shinsengumi."

Suddenly, Hijikata was yelling, obviously unhappy with how Sannan had decided to handle the situation, "And that means you have to cut her?"

As though he had been slapped, Sannan took a step back and slowly lowered his blade; he seemed to finally realize what he had been doing – and how it had looked. Sheepishly, without looking either of us in the eye, he returned his sword to its scabbard, "I – I apologize. I had no intention of killing her, however. I only meant to collect a bit of her blood." He sounded sad, almost defeated, as he continued, "…We've lost so many of the furies. Many of our human soldiers have fallen as well. If we abandon the furies, and finding a cure to the madness they endure, I fear more of our men will die." Finally, he looked up, and in his eyes I saw pain; pleading, he went on, "Everything I do, I do for the Shinsengumi, Hijikata. You must understand."

"I do understand, Sannan. But you are a colonel of that very same Shinsengumi; are you prepared to break the Code?" He had lowered his own weapon, as well as his voice, while taking in Sannan's desperate rationalization. "What I walked in on you about to do to Yukimura would have broken the Code. We don't fight our own, no matter the circumstances. Or have you forgotten?"

Sannan's shoulders sagged as he averted his eyes once again, "Of course I hadn't forgotten. I just got so caught up…" With another sigh, he turned his gaze to me, "Please, forgive me, Yukimura."

He looked so broken, so genuinely apologetic, I didn't even have to think before I found myself nodding.

He gave me a sad smile in return, "Thank you. And, please, don't let my…behavior deter you from answering." Although he was clearly embarrassed by his earlier actions, he'd meant what he had said to Hijikata. The Shinsengumi came first, and now was not a time to let his pride stop him from reaching his goal, "Will you help us?"

Now it was my turn to avert my gaze, opting instead to stare at the ground as I turned over the idea in my head, carefully considering each of his words from earlier. The threat of war was certainly growing ever more perilous, and I was feeling increasingly useless as time wore on… but no, this was not a split-second sort of decision. With a gulp, I tried to steel my resolve as I looked up to meet his eyes once again, "I – I'd like some time to think it over, if that's alright."

Sannan looked for a moment as though he wanted to argue against my request, but it was Hijikata who spoke instead, "That's an excellent idea, Yukimura. We'll leave you to consider your position…alone." He directed the last word pointedly at the colonel whose shoulders sagged in resignation.

His pale eyes met mine briefly as he followed the commander from my room; I saw Hijikata pause beyond the door, though he didn't turn it was obvious he was listening to Sannan's words carefully. It seemed unnecessary, however, as the colonel simply apologized once again for his previous actions, "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Yukimura. I… appreciate that you have decided to at least consider the possibility." He looked as though there was more he wanted to say, but after a moment's hesitation he merely bowed awkwardly before sliding the door closed behind him.

I let out a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding and leaned against the wall. I tried not to dwell on the thoughts of what could have happened if Hijikata hadn't intervened when he did. Instead, I needed to focus on the issue at hand. Looking around my room, I felt almost like the walls were closing in on me; claustrophobic. I decided a walk around the compound would allow me to better clear my head and heart before tackling the question; I knew that whatever I decided, I needed to give it the careful consideration it deserved first.

After a small jaunt around the compound, I found myself in my favorite place beneath the small cluster of trees in the corner of the courtyard. I breathed in the cool air deeply before leaning against the largest tree and looking up to the sky.

With all-out war on the horizon, and looming more and more heavily over us, the captains were beginning to feel less and less comfortable using me as a messenger. I understood their reasons quite clearly, although no one had taken me aside to explain. I had long ago honed my skills of reading between the lines where the Shinsengumi were concerned. I knew that they were no longer apprehensive to send me on missions due to the risk to my safety. It had grown to be more than that. Years ago they had admitted that I could hold my own well enough to join them on raids and patrols, but I was still far from being able to come out on top in a one-on-one battle with a trained and skilled swordsman. And certainly even less capable of taking on multiple aggressors at once. A messenger who cannot run a solo mission, or fend off potential interceptors is useless. If the message is never delivered, it does not only mean my safety was compromised, but also that of the Shinsengumi. The chances of me failing such duties were increasing just as tension between domains across the country were.

Therefore the only responsibilities I could reasonably shoulder were, once again, cooking and cleaning. After finally having made progress in proving my usefulness to the captains, I felt like I was back to square one. Even if they let me explore the compound freely nowadays, it was hard to glean purpose and satisfaction from such inconsequential tasks. Although the men seemed to appreciate my cooking, and the softness of their linens, I knew they had easily taken care of such chores without me before I came along.

I sighed and leaned my head back against the bark of the tree, letting my eyes drift closed. If I were being honest with myself, I knew from the moment the words left Sannan's lips that I there was no way I could refuse. It was the perfect opportunity to repay the men of the Shinsengumi, especially the captains, for all they had done for me. However, I couldn't deny that I had some reservations. The manic gleam in Sannan's eyes as he'd pulled his blade on me earlier hadn't left my mind. I involuntarily shivered at the memory.

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 **Author's Note:** I've already got the next chapter written (though not typed) and the general gist of how things are going to play out in the beginning worked out, but I'm hoping to get reader input to determine how things will go beyond a certain point! It won't quite be a choose your own adventure, but making sure people are enjoying what I'm writing is important to me, so I'd love to hear what folks would like to see happen to our protagonist in the future. Please let me know what you think of the story otherwise, too. If you like the plot, want to read more, or have any sort of comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thanks for reading~ See you next time!


	2. The Terms

That night at dinner, things almost felt normal. Aside from Okita's absence (he was having a particularly taxing week and had been sent to stay under Dr. Matsumoto's watchful eye at his clinic), things felt reminiscent of when I had first started living with the Shinsengumi. It eased the troubles in my heart and bolstered my resolve – the lively atmosphere reaffirmed my desire for the men to be able to share more moments like these going forward.

After all the dishes had been cleared, I stood from my seat and cleared my throat before looking directly at Sannan, "I've thought about what you said earlier."

Eyebrows around the room raised in curiosity. In my periphery I could see many pairs of eyes glancing inquisitively back and forth between myself and the colonel. He mouth drew into a wry smile, "I assume you have made your decision then?"

I nodded while carefully resuming my seated position, "Almost. There are a few details I want to clarify before making such a serious commitment, though. Because it's something which could affect everyone in this room, I thought maybe we should discuss the terms as a unit." I tried to ignore the sounds of Nagakura choking on his glass of water, resolutely not moving my eyes from Sannan's face.

He quirked a single eyebrow at me, surprised by my words. Whether he was more stunned by the fact that I was obviously leaning towards an agreement, or if it was my sudden, uncharacteristic assertiveness, I wasn't sure. He said nothing and opted instead to continue staring unblinkingly across the room at me. The other captains appeared to be waiting with bated breath for what would transpire next, and merely observed. Not even Heisuke uttered a word.

Feeling unnerved beneath everyone's focused gazes, I felt some of my previous confidence slipping away. I fought hard not to fidget, but couldn't resist averting my eyes to the wall behind his head, "I – I know I'm not exactly in a position to be making demands… especially not after all the Shinsengumi has done for me." I took a deep breath to steel myself before raising my eyes to his face again, "But I do feel that some limits are necessary before I can consent."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hijikata nodding, a wide smirk dominating his features. Heisuke and Nagakura were wide-eyed, mouths agape; I had obviously taken them by surprise as well. Harada's eyebrows were high on his forehead, and even Saito was having a hard time hiding his curiosity. Sannan, however, still had his stare trained on me alone, and did not seem to be aware of anyone else in the room. "Go ahead, Yukimura. State your terms."

Admittedly, I was a bit shocked to realize his tone lacked malice. In fact, the small smile which was playing across his lips seemed genuine. Reminded of the kind Sannan who had welcomed me into the home of the Shinsengumi so long ago, I suddenly felt more at ease and found my voice unwavering as I continued, "First, I want to be clear that only my blood should be needed for the experiments. So, severing any of my appendages, no matter how small, is off-limits."

This time it was Harada who spewed his drink, while Heisuke sputtered next to him, "Wh-what?!"

Before they could go on, I sheepishly hurried to explain my reasoning, "Well, I'm sure Sannan may be curious about the extent of my healing powers. Although I lived most of my life unaware of the fact I was a demon, I can still say with almost complete certainty that my abilities don't go so far as full tissue regeneration."

"An astute observation, Yukimura," it was Saito who spoke this time. "Any trials in regards to the effects your blood may have should be limited to the furies themselves." I blushed and nodded my head in appreciation; he'd immediately understood my reasoning and gave further credit to my request. It seemed he was always looking out for me in his own way.

After his declaration all eyes turned to me again. I looked to Sannan, who seemed to be waiting for me to state all of my wishes before he would speak. I gave a small bow of understanding before continuing, "My second request is that my blood is collected only once a week. Although my wounds heal themselves quickly, it still takes a while for my body to replenish lost blood… I learned that the night I was attacked by the rogue rasetsu."

Even if that was reason enough on its own, I felt I needed to reveal all my motivations for my request if Sannan were to not only agree, but also heed it for as long as his research continued. "It was an exhausting process, honestly, because I lost so much. I wasn't even able to cook for a few days after it happened. So, I do want to help with the experiments, but only if it won't get in the way of my other duties."

It was silent for a moment as everyone absorbed my explanation. It was short-lived, however, as laughter rang out in response to my final statement; I felt my cheeks and ears flare a bright red. _What was so funny about what I said?!_ I found myself self-consciously scanning the occupants of the room. Heisuke, Harada, and Nagakura were practically rolling on the floor in their boisterous mirth. The youngest captain pointed at me with one hand while wiping tears from his eyes with the other, "Really, Chizuru, only you are so good that you wouldn't use this as a way to get out of doing chores!" It was only a second before he was chuckling too hard to speak any further.

My eyes widened in surprise; the thought hadn't even crossed my mind! Seeing my reaction to his outburst seemed to finally break Hijikata and Saito, too. The former hid his mouth behind a hand, but I could clearly see his shoulders shaking with his silent laughter. Saito's gaze was warm as he shook his head in disbelief, an amused smile stretching his lips. Even Sannan was grinning at me wryly.

"It seems you really thought this through, Yukimura," he sounded truly pleased. "Your requests are rather reasonable as well. I see no reason not to oblige." The laughter in the room had quieted so everyone could listen to his response. "Was there anything else?"

I began to shake my head, but was shocked into stopping when Heisuke spoke up. All mirth from earlier was gone and his voice was deadly serious, "Actually, I think we need to think about measures to ensure her safety." I didn't understand. I had made sure I wouldn't lose any of my limbs or digits, and also guaranteed I wouldn't constantly be exhausted from too much blood loss…

"I must concur, Toudou. Without proper precautions, this endeavor could certainly put Yukimura at risk. I think it is to everyone's benefit if the blood-letting is performed in closed quarters, preferably far from the Rasetsu Corps itself." Saito, ever the voice of reason, had all of the captains nodding along in agreement. Even I could finally understand what Heisuke had meant; I blushed when I realized how easily I had overlooked such a significant detail.

"On that same note, men, I want her supervised, especially during the extraction periods," Hijikata's tone was stern and brooked no room for argument as usual. "We don't want another incident like before." Everyone in the room knew exactly what he meant; the night I had previously referenced myself. Suddenly, his violet gaze pierced me, "Yukimura, if you want to do this, I'm putting you under constant surveillance."

"Wh – what?" I was shocked. Why, especially after what he'd said that afternoon about me being one of the Shinsengumi's own, would he bother the others with something like that? I wouldn't agree to something so grave only to turn around and run away right after. Even if I wasn't taking part, all thoughts of running away had disappeared shortly after my arrival in their home. I'd thought they trusted me now!

"You misunderstand," blue eyes bore into me from next to the commander, and I turned to Saito. How was it that he always seemed to know exactly where my thoughts had gone? Was my face really that easy to read? He continued to explain Hijikata's frame of mind, "Furies have sought out your essence even before they'd had a taste of your blood. If Sannan is going to use it in his experiments, I've no doubt that consumption is the highest priority in tests. We will need constant vigilance to ensure you are kept safe at all times."

Despite the relief that they no longer felt I wanted to leave, my shoulders fell. Even in taking this step in an attempt to help the Shinsengumi, I've become even more of a burden. Before despair could fully entangle my heart, though, Sannan spoke. I was surprised to hear his voice as the one to comfort me this time, "Everyone here has been happy with your presence. I daresay your meals alone have gotten many a man through a rough day. And what you are agreeing to, nay – offering yourself to do now – will be invaluable to our entire unit. You are one of our greatest assets, Yukimura. And we protect our own." The fact that even the colonel was calling me one of their own and reassuring me about the Shinsengumi's feelings towards me left me speechless.

Seeing the nods of agreement from all of the other men in the room as well just drove it home further and I felt my eyes beginning to prickle with tears. Harada clapped a hand to my shoulder happily, "So stop worrying that pretty little head of yours."

With the backs of my thumbs I tried to stem the flow of tears before it began, but a small hiccup caused the captains to erupt in laughter once more. All the tension I had been feeling earlier that day, the reservations I'd had about taking on such a potentially dangerous endeavor, had fled at their assurances. As long as I had my friends at my side, I knew I could live happily. So I had to do whatever in my power I could to help them stay safe and be happy, too.

Hijikata stood, "Okay, men, that's enough frivolity for one evening. It's gotten late enough and Nagakura's late for his division's patrol. I expect you all at breakfast. That's an order; no excuses." He was back to his normal, gruff self, but we could all see the optimism dancing in his eyes. We all stood to exit quickly, as no matter how light-hearted the atmosphere, still no one dared defy an order from the Demon Commander.

I didn't notice Hijikata stop Sannan in the room and engage him in a private conversation, too focused was I on the rare smile gracing Saito's face in front of me as we filed out of the room.

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 **Author's Note:** So, what did you think? I tried to keep interactions fairly equal between most of the characters, but this was another chapter devoted to exposition and setup for the things to come. I'm sorry if it moved a bit slowly. Also, I'm aware that Okita hasn't made an appearance yet, but I certainly have plans in the works to bring him around soon enough. I'd love to hear your feedback, comments, suggestions, thoughts, praise, criticisms… you know, anything you have to say!


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